Bambu Lab has released its latest 3D printer, the $2,499 H3C, an awaited Bambu answer to Prusa INDX and Snapmaker.The printer comes with a nine toolhead Swaptek exchanger, which can switch material in six seconds.The H3C is an important machine for Bambu, since it needs to recapture the initiative and posit a new architecture that ups its game vis-à-vis its competitors.
Bambu is still doing well, but PR snafus and the company’s size has made it so that the panda is everyone’s favorite target now.Elegoo has gotten a DJI investment, Meituan is investing in everyone, as is Hill House Ventures, while plug and power bank giant Anker is leading in desktop UV printing through eufymake, and xTool grows in the laser space.Bambu is the biggest 3D printing firm by far, with revenues exceeding $1.2 billion for the year, but if we look more broadly at the large Chinese firms involved in desktop manufacturing, the company is a relative minnow.
The H3C has to work in order to anchor Bambu’s place in our industry so it isn’t swept aside by a storm of other offerings.Anker is a $4 billion revenue plug company that manages to make 48% margins while expanding distribution and products in hearing aids, solar power, and lawn care robots.I personally find Anker terrifying.
The Stratasys judgement smarts, but it’s a flesh wound; Anker is a shark with places to go.3D printing is a redoubt for Bambu while we see just how many millions of desktop UV printers and laser cutters will be sold in the coming year.The H3C has a dedicated flexible materials extruder, which hopefully ameliorates a weakness in Bambu’s offering, printing TPU well up to 75A.
Surprisingly, that toolhead can use both 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm, with the thicker filament allowing for 300% the flow.It’s a smart play though, since the large cross sectional area and higher rigidity would aid in super soft filaments and higher speeds.Every toolhead will preload and keep filament heated for swaps.
I’m not sure what that means for filament quality in the long run, but it should be fast.The system preheats nozzles just in time for printing.There’s also a rack to keep all those tubes in line, docking and tool offset are automated.
Bambu says that the new AMS 3H is airtight, and has an onboard dryer that can go to 85°C.You can piggyback older AMS units onto the system as well, and go up to 24 different materials.That would make this a great office printer to be used by everyone in the lab.
It would ostensibly also be interesting for the dragon and colorful collectible print farms since it would make them more flexible, and delay material changes without requiring a lazy Susan or other addition.I’m curious how many people will just load this with 24 rolls of PETG and run it for two months straight.Bambu says that the machine is capable of “accelerations of 25,000 mm/s² and moves at up to 1,400 mm/s without the ringing that normally accompanies such velocities.” The printer’s build chamber has 65°C contact sensor while the tools can be heated to 350°C, so you can use engineering materials like ABS and PC blends.
There’s fans galore on the parts, toolheads, either side, and back of the chamber.The company thinks that full color is easier now, as well as faster.Bambu has its own PLA Palette with cyan, magenta, yellow, and white, as well as a translucent black for color mixing.
You can use different nozzles interchangeably for detail and quick printing.The H3C also has a Bambu Station, which includes space for tools and filament, and there’s also an E1 Air Purifier.The H3C seems like a very complete machine at a very competitive price.
We’ve yet to review it, so we don’t know how it will do day to day.But, ever since inception, Bambu has spread out its 3D printers to many different niches and models.This seems like a foundational model for a new generation of machines that will spread this technology into every niche.
It could be a great in-office and at-home system for many.It will be pricey for most of the market, but for businesses, just the idea of keeping 24 rolls at hand would make it very tempting indeed.And this will lead to many more full color and colorful models being printed.
It places Bambu above Snapmaker and others, and makes it more well-positioned for business users.I think this could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for a lot of 3D printer manufacturers.It’s clearly a complexity trap as well.
Bambu is using its software and sensor prowess to increase complexity in switching, materials, and general operation.Rather than go toe to toe with the Shenzhen set on manufacturing P2S machines at lower pricing, the company is trying to aim higher.Companies that can now reliably make K3 or similar systems may not be able to follow this latest leap in complexity.
That would give the firm an island of the market to own.If the dragon printing hype is set to continue, and the souvenir stores with 3D printers continue to proliferate, this would be a good system for them as well, and a way for the firm to capture more value from color-focused print shops.Yes, the upfront cost is considerably higher, but if you can go from one person per 40 machines to one per 80, then it could be very much worth it, especially for local shops in expensive countries.
I also like that the level of complexity would make this kind of thing look excessively burdensome and annoying to do for Anker or Elegoo.They could simply opt for UV printing or desktop CNC instead, since that may be a bigger market.In that sense, this could be strategically astute.
I like the H3C a lot as a powerful in-office printer.I don’t know how many people will get this over a few P2S printers, though.But, by upping its game and increasing complexity, Bambu is once again leveraging its experience in digitizing extrusion to enable itself to forge ahead.
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